Wishlists for a new world order

ET BureauMar 23, 2009, 09.32pm IST

An expert UN commission headed Joseph Stiglitz has recommended that a new global super body called the Global Economic Council be set up to replace the G20, under the aegis of the UN, with wider powers to tackle global issues and independent of the security council.

Key recommendations of the expert panel argue that the new body should include about 20 to 25 members, and should not be subject to the veto powers of the developed nations.

The panel has also called for a reserve system that would provide support to developing countries on an ongoing basis, and set aside up to 1% of their fiscal stimulus plans to spend in developing countries.

Meanwhile, the Chinese leadership has come out with its idea of a new global monetary system, calling for an expansion in the role and use of SDRs (special drawing rights) to replace the dollar as the world's main reserve currency.

The SDR, a super soverign reserve asset created by the IMF is currently limited by the rules on its allocation and scope. The governor of the People's Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, in a speech called for an international reserve currency that is disconnected from individual nations.

China, it is known, has long been unhappy about the volatitility of the dollar, and is expected to press its case strongly in future global forums.